up next.

I'm still feeling quite satisfied after the half-ironman. I have no burning desire to race. Or do any more tri's this year.

I'm just starting to want to get back to a regular training routine. Just after the race, I went sailing for a couple days on a large brackish lake in Holland. I enjoyed swimming in the salty water.  Then we camped in Switzerland under the Jungfrau for almost a week.

Mountain biking and very long, high altitude hikes drained whatever was left of my legs. By the fourth day, though, the soreness was gone.

Odie loved camping and hiking.

I took Odie down to the beach today for a run. It took a little convincing before he would follow me. I'm not entirely sure he wanted to run. But we did.  Summer runs on the beach have been uneventful. But this time a very polite policeman in an off-road truck told me I was lucky to be running south with the dog. That meant I hadn't seen the sign restricting dogs from being on the beach. He let me go without a fine, only to come back a few minutes later to tell me to take Odie into the dunes, pointing over to a trail. Fair enough, except I was barefoot.  The dunes running trails are either brick or crushed shells. We made it alright. I had to stop a couple times to pick pieces of shells out of the sole of my foot, but nothing of any important.  We then took another trail  back down to the part of the beach that is dog-legal year round and made our way home.    My left hamstring was a little tender sometimes on the run, so I kept it slow and walked regularly.

Total run 12 km. Long & slow. I had intended 16 km but apparently my luck was to turn back soon enough to avoid the ticket I would have surely received had I tried to go a few more km north (and thus presumptively would have been able to read the sign saying no dog). The policeman explained that while dogs can't read, humans can. 

I've looked at my running races that are lining up for the fall and need to decide between two that six days apart. I ran them both last year and was too tired (and cold) to finish the 25 km race after running an easy 15 km the weekend before. The 15 km is a well-run, well-attended hilly race out of town.  My friend who injured herself has offered to give me her bib (and the shirt she ordered). I already registered myself for the 25 km. That one's close to home - just out my front door.  Choices choices.  I figure I could drop out again this year after 10 km, but I was harassed by club-mates last year - better to be last than a drop out. This one is an intimate race of about 400 people that includes a t-shirt and apple pie with coffee afterwards.  I registered early to avoid being shut out.

So as I move into the fall, I've come up with some goals. 

My goals: shorter term: kick some more weight to the curb; maintain my fitness; longer term: increase my ability to ride hilly/mountainous terrain; run a little faster; improve my swimming technique. continue to enjoy training & racing.

How to get there: 

Weight-loss: No sugar/no starch. Except during long exercise or immediately afterwards.
Swimming, I will resume swimming 1-2x with my club and continue to drill  Total Immersion techniques on Sundays.  

Cycling: I have group rides easily available to me with my club and with friends, plus lots of inexpensive organised tours around Holland. And the indoor TACX trainer.

Running - I enjoy 3x a week. I'll work some speed work into my training as the running races approach, so long as I get no complaints from my hamstring.

Get back into the gym 2x for core strength etc.

Racing next year. Nearly immediately I wanted to do Antwerp again, but faster. But I will have "home leave" next year, which means travelling for 4 weeks in July/early August in the US.  That means I could conceivably pick a US race and bring my bike (which would be a pain for my family). Regardless of when I decide to race, I will have to work my racing/training plans around this trip - kind of like last year. (I'm planning to summit the Grand Teton with my older son, so it won't be a "total loss.")  I also realised that I need to work on my power for cycling in the mountains. That, or abandon any hope of racing anywhere else in Europe.